Innaturale
by Lawless5
Summary: While investigating a case in an old graveyard outside of town, the team run into something rather unnatural about the case. Ziva, however, comes to shocking conclusions that link to tragedies of her past and a danger to her fellow teammates. Can she unravel the mystery of these unnatural events to clear her name and save her friends? Story involves Supernatural components.
1. Graveyard

The reflection of the moon sprouted upon the graveyards light thin grass. A man slowly walked through the isles searching for the right tombstone. He was pushing a wheel barrow with a rather heavy weight upon it. He continued to look around hoping no one was watching. He finally reached that empty grave. He emptied the heavy bag into the grave, and picked up his shovel and began to pile the dirt he had dug a few hours ago.

He heard a crackle in the wind which made him stop. He turned his head searching for something that could have made that noise. He saw nothing. Nothing but the long fields of the old grave yard. His heart began to pound he was shaking. He knew that something probably wasn't out there but how could he know for sure. He continued to dig, and the sound came once more. This time it was louder. The sound then folded into footsteps coming from behind him. He knew by that sound of whose footsteps they were. He dropped the shovel and began to run.

He ran as fast as he could but still heard the footsteps grow louder and faster. He was so desperate to call for help but he knew that nothing could come of that.

A hand grabbed him from the side. The known man stood there like a shadow hovering over his victim. The victim saw nothing but a small smile opening across the shadowed face. The victim let out a large cry.

-x-

The wind whistled through the branches of a lone tree that hung over of a few graves. The wind brought an ichy feeling to Tony's bare neck as he tried to take pictures of the gruesome scene.

"A guy dies in a grave yard…how ironic!" He commented as he knelt down closer to the unfortunate victim lying in a hole, taking more detailed photos. Gibbs ignored his comment.

"When I say turn left Mr. Palmer, I mean left not right!" exclaimed Ducky in a rather frustrated tone. Gibbs turned around to see the old man walk towards them while Palmer trailed behind him carrying all the materials in a struggling fashion.

"The street sign said that to the right was the graveyard, I did not know that it was flipped over," Palmer explained.

"Nice of you to show up Duck," Gibbs commented as he pulled down his NCIS cap to block the sun from hitting his eyes.

"Yes well I believe nice wouldn't be the correct term to use especially in the presence of this young lad," said Ducky. "Oh dear, what have they done to you?" Ducky spoke to the dead petty officer.

"Name McGee?" asked Gibbs. McGee pulled out his smartphone and began to read.

"Petty Officer Jonathon Walts. Married with no children, just came back from a tour about 2 months ago."

"It seems that the poor lad was buried alive, and due to the mass of dirt under his fingernails he must have been clawing his way through," Ducky explained as he examined the body more closely. Palmer stuck the thermometer into the victim's kidney.

"Died about 12 hours ago," concluded Palmer as he took out the thermometer. Ziva came in from behind them giving Tony a fright once she spoke.

Gibbs saw a small piece of cloth hanging out from the side of the open grave hole. He took out his rubber gloves from his pocket and put them on. He reached out and pulled it out. It was a pale beige cotton like fabric covered in patterns of dirt. McGee opened up the evidence bag he was carrying and held it open for Gibbs to place the fabric inside it.

"The keeper said that a pale woman witnessed his findings of the body, he says she should be here soon to confirm," Ziva added.

"A pale woman?" commented Tony. "What is she a ghost? ooooooh" He joked while making small hand gestures to show he is "scared".

"Well that depends, Tony. Is it a ghost you are looking for?" The whole team's jaws dropped as the pale woman entered the scene. Palmer was the only one confused of why everyone was in awe. Ziva felt as though she recognized the woman from a picture. Tony and the rest, however, knew her rather well. It was Kate Todd.


	2. out

The team stood there silently wondering if this was all a dream. Kate died, on the roof top about 8 years ago! Tony was there and so was Gibbs they saw it! Ducky did the autopsy, how on earth was she standing right there in front of them. Palmer finally clicked into who was standing in front of them. Gibbs was so tempted to say her name, but his shock led to nothing but silence. Kate stood there smiling; now Tony understood why the keeper called her the pale woman. Even though she stood there alive in the flesh her skin was still paler than usual.

-x-

"So you are telling me that your deceased agent... Kate Todd was standing in front of... you?" Vance asked Gibbs while he leaned back on his chair.

"Ya, and she's down in the bullpen right now. In the flesh."

"This doesn't make sense! Right in front of me is the autopsy report stating that she died 8 years ago by a shot in the head by Ziva's half-brother Ari!" Vance was starting to shout. This whole mess didn't make sense.

"Abby ran her DNA. She's the real thing. She even has the scars from where ducky performed the autopsy," explained Gibbs. Vance pierced his lips in confusion. There was no way in hell that this was possible.

"And she was the witness?"

"She said she only saw a man cloaked in black walking away from the hole where the petty officer was killed."

"In a graveyard…this sounds like one of those horrors movies Dinozzo is so fond of," Vance commented.

"We'll figure it out, along with case we will figure it out."

"And you are sure she isn't an imposter?"

"We did all the tests, she's the real deal."

Vance leaned in closer to his desk holding his chin with his hand. "That's what worries me."

Down in the bull pen Tony at first could not bring out any words to say to Kate; however, once all the tests came out positive he couldn't stop talking. All the years of stories he could tell her and show her of how much things changed in the last 8 years. McGee as well engaged in talking non-stop to Kate, and a few minutes later Abby joined in. Ziva was the only one who felt awkward about this. She was Kate's replacement, she never met Kate, and she never knew her. What was she supposed to say? Sorry I replaced you in the team? How did you "resurrect"? A million questions came through her mind, but she could not dare ask any of them.

Once the conversations started to die down, Ziva finally took the courage to ask, "so…how did you come back to life?" All went silent; no one dared yet to ask that question which surprised Ziva. She expected someone as logic as McGee and curious as Tony would ask that sort of question. Once Kate was about to open her mouth and answer she was stopped but an entering Gibbs.

"Doesn't matter, she's back that's what matters. McGee talk to me," said Gibbs. Ziva's jaw dropped to the realization that Gibbs had turned down that questions, Gibbs! Of all people. Ziva clicked back into reality once McGee started to speak.

"The wife has been informed of her husband's death and will be coming in for questioning in about an hour. Her name is Kathleen Walts, thirty two years old and a high school English teacher. She and Jonathon has recently bought a house and were planning to move in next week from their downtown apartment," explained McGee as he clicked the remote which showed images of a beautiful curly black haired woman, and beside it a picture of her soon to be new home.

Tony took the remote from McGee's hand and clicked it revealing a banking document and continued, "both shared accounts, no secret accounts, everything shared. Sounds like she's clean to me, Boss."

Before Ziva was about to add in her findings, Kate stepped in. "I hope you don't mind but I too did some research as a contribution. His landlord said that he last saw him around ten pm that night and looked as though he was in a hurry to do something, his truck seemed to have something in it that seemed unusual." Kate smiled all proud of herself. Ziva was shocked, that was the information that she was supposed to find, Did Kate really do research or did she just steal Ziva's. Before Ziva could protest, Kate took the remote from Tony showing Gibbs the "evidence" of her findings. To Ziva's surprise this was Kate's work.

_What? So all of a sudden she comes back from the dead and she is already investigating a crime scene? Shouldn't we be investigating her? She came back to life? That is not exactly normal,_ Ziva thought to herself.

"Hey hey, missing your old job already?" Tony joked.

"Nice work Kate," complimented Gibbs. "Here…if you want to help." Gibbs pulled out a chair from the empty desk that was beside McGee's. "Okay, McGee…"

"Check all the security cameras in his apartment parking lot so I can get a hit on his vehicle, on hit," McGee finished.

"Tony…"

"Start looking up relatives and friends to see if anything suspicious comes up, on it Boss."

"Kate…"

"I'll go down to see Abby and check up on that fabric you found and see if the data for the fingerprints is ready."

"Okay, I'm off to talk to the wife," said Gibbs as the rest of the team scrambled to their work. Ziva sat there staring at him as he walked away calling his name a few times but clearly Gibbs did not hear anything. She sat back in her chair confused. Kate passed by Tony's desk and Tony smiled back at her. Not just a normal Tony smile, but a TONY smile. Ziva knew that smile very well; she was the only one he would use it with. But now, he gave it to Kate.


	3. curiosity killed the cat

The autopsy room was cold as usual, but it didn't bother Ziva. She could not get a hold of Gibbs since he was in the meeting room with the wife. So she decided to be of some use in the autopsy room. The doors slid open and Ducky immediately recognized who it was without even turning around.

"Ziva, what a pleasant surprise! What can I do for you on this fine afternoon?" asked Ducky while wiping the scissors, that was just used, clean.

"I was simply wondering if I could be of service."

"Did Jethro send you down?"

"No."

"Well then your help would be most appreciated and quite opportune. You see Mr. Palmer is home sick so an extra hand would be rather helpful, my dear." Ziva smiled and walked towards the table seeing Jonathon's body all exposed and opened. Ducky handed her a pair of gloves and asked her to hand him any tool he needs. She nodded and placed the gloves on her hands.

"Ducky?"

"Yes, Ziva?"

"Do you find it strange…that Kate all of a sudden…is alive?"

Ducky stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. He sighed and pointed to the small knife on the counter. Ziva picked it up and handed it to him. As he started to take out the victim's lung, he began to explain his opinion.

"I find many things strange, Ziva. Some stranger than others, but yes, this is a strange event. I did not believe it myself at first until I noticed the stiches that I had performed on her body and they were exact to what I remember. Her medical examinations proved that she in fact is Kate Todd in the flesh, and as strange as this situation may turn out to be, it happened and she is alive. A relief too many of us who loved and cared for her," He said as he completely removed the lung from the body. Ziva pulled over the scale closer to him so he could place the organ upon it.

"Yes, but are you not curious as to how this could have happened? Tony said it himself that he was right there when she was killed…so how is this possible?"

"I do not know Ziva, I too am curious but sometimes one has to leave things a lone for its better sake. I do not know if you are familiar with the phrase: curiosity killed the cat?"

"Are you saying we should just accept it that she is back and not wonder why?"

"Ziva, wondering why is just another way of saying that we do not want her here and that we want her to go back where she came from, which I do know is not your intention. But digging into this hole will only get you deeper. 'tis best it you leave it alone Ziva, many of our wishes were granted when she came back and we do not want to undue that wish."

-x-

That conversation with Ducky has been on Ziva's mind all night. She sat on her couch just staring at the wall wondering and wondering. D_igging into this hole will only get you deeper._ Those words circled her mind. How was it that all of a sudden Kate just so happened to be at that cemetery and witness a murder of a marine. She could not have resurrected there, she was buried in the cemetery ten minutes away from the NCIS building. This cemetery was about an hour away. Nothing made sense.

Ziva pulled out her laptop and was so curious she had to research. She looked into the files that McGee had looked at regarding the security camera footage. She noticed the truck that McGee had mentioned earlier. She froze the image and stared at it until it was pictured perfectly in her mind. The truck was a light blue with a pickup in the back. She noticed a corner of what seemed to be a bag. The bag was pale beige. Pale beige! The fabric! How did McGee not notice this? Or has he noticed and no one told Ziva. All she knew was she didn't care what time it was she was heading back to NCIS despite the fact if Abby will be there or not. She had to make sure that the fabric could be it.

As Ziva began to drive back to work not caring that it was almost midnight, she was filled with anxious energy that her sleepy feelings had left her. It bothered her greatly that Gibbs didn't ask her to find something for the case. It was as though Ziva was the ghost, to be unseen and unheard from. This angered Ziva. She wanted to prove that she could figure this case out faster than the rest of the team. It may seem a big selfish for Ziva's character but something about Kate being there made her want to get back into the top of things.

She was able to get inside; no one was there except the janitor cleaning his way through the halls. She took the elevator down to Abby's lab. She knew that Abby wouldn't be there but she went anyway. Once she turned on the lights she saw the little piece of evidence sitting in its bag on the table. The opening so of the bag showed Ziva that Abby had already tested it. She walked towards the computer and pressed the mouse. To her surprise Abby had left it on. Displayed on the screen she saw a chart displaying the different chemicals that were found on the fabric. _Oh boy, I don't know any of this stuff._

Ziva took out her Iphone and started googling every chemical that was displayed on the screen. After about an hour, she found that the fabric had sources of dirt, and blood. Not much to go on. She then saw a link to one of the chemicals she could not find on google. It linked to a diagram showing a double helix, Ziva was only able to recognize the fact that it was DNA. But her knowledge is science was very poor. She found another link which showed who the DNA belonged to. Jonathon Walts. Why would she not know about this? Even if it was late Abby would have informed Gibbs and Gibbs would have informed the team. However, this information was not helpful at all. She turned off the computer and went back into the elevator and then entered the bullpen. To her surprise Kate was working at her desk.

"Kate?"

Kate looked up, she looked paler than usual. She did not say anything but grin at Ziva.

"Why are you here?" Ziva asked after the no response.

"Why are you here?" Kate asked her back.

"I forgot something…" Ziva lied.

Ziva could tell that Kate was working on the case. But why? She so desperately wanted to ask her why it was her business to be working with NCIS right now when she has been deceased for 8 years. Her badge is terminated, she cannot renew it! This frustrated Ziva.

Kate did nothing but stare at her, her expression became more serious. Ziva could not see the Kate that Gibbs, McGee, and Tony had described to her over the years. In fact, this Kate seemed rather different.


	4. sneak

**This chapter is kinda short but it has meaning :) i hope you're enjoying it :)**

* * *

Ziva returned in the morning to NCIS only to find that she was right. Everyone knew about what was going on with case and she was out of the loop. For days Gibbs continuously "forgot" to assign her to do something with the case. It disgusted her that now Kate was going off with Tony to question people. She felt replaced. Was this karma? Since she replaced Kate now she has to be replaced as well. _Tony said that I am not replaceable…_ Ziva thought as she brought back memories of her truth and consequences back in Saleem's camp.

"As long as you do not talk during the movie and repeat every favourite line of yours then I will go," said Kate. Ziva looked over and saw Tony sit on her desk the way he used to with Ziva's. _They are going to see a movie together?_

"okay, fine I'll make a sacrifice, as long as you let me rant about it after!" Tony gave her a 'do we have a deal' face. Kate laughed and shook her head.

"not a chance."

"oh come on! This movie is a classic! It is discussion worthy!"

"If you go overboard I am leaving." Kate gave Tony the same face and he had no choice but to agree.

Ziva had had enough; she got up and left for autopsy. She had no idea why she was heading there but she knew that if she went into Abby's lab Abby might have figured out that Ziva used her computer. Once she entered the cold atmosphere she noticed that the body was still there but no signs of Ducky. She crept closely towards it curious about how his death could relate the Kate's return. She took a closer look noticing the struggle in his dead expression. She saw something black behind his ear. She lowered herself to his level and looked to find a small black circle. She had read Ducky's reports since she had nothing else to do and did not recall a mention of a circle tattoo behind his ear.

-x-

She began to drive out to the victims house hoping to find the wife and speak to her herself since Gibbs won't tell her anything. She approached the door and lightly knocked upon it. There was no answer.

"Mrs. Walts, its NCIS please open up" she called out. Still no answer. She knew that if she broke in, she'd be in deep trouble with Gibbs, but since the presence of Kate had taken their focus off of Ziva she decided to go for it. She took out a bobby pin from her hair and used it to pick the lock. The door opened slightly and had her gun at the ready just in case. She walked in closing the door quietly behind her and checking every room to see if it was clear. She was alone. She put her gun back into its case attached to her belt. She started to look around the living room checking to see if there was anything she could find. She walked upstairs and entered his room thinking there might be something. But then it occurred to her that if a man was hiding secrets he would not hide them in the common areas that he and his wife both share. So she descended into the basement. She figured that since Gibbs usually keeps his personal items in his basement so would the petty officer.

There was an old bookshelf filled with books hardly touched since nothing but dust covered them. She skinned her eyes through the bindings along the shelves. Her eyes stopped as she saw the black circle upon the binding. She quickly pulled it out and saw that the title was Latin. It looked ridged and old. Before she could open it she heard the door open from upstairs. It was the wife. Ziva looked around the basement finding a place for her to exit and noticed a small window. She climbed onto the table that stood in front of it holding the book tightly in her arms. She pushed the window open and slid herself through the narrow opening. Once she was able to get out she crept to the corner of the house checking to see if she was there and once the coast was clear she sprinted across the street and into her car.


	5. nightmare

A pale face stared deeply into Tony's eyes, looking slowly up and down as his figure. Her pale lips were pursed together as she eyed him. No words were exchanged, but suddenly once her eyes met his she pulled his head down towards hers and kissed him. She kissed him deeply and passionately. Their tongues intertwined as it began more aggressive. They broke apart and Tony began to kiss her pale neck. Her eyes closing to the touch, they then reopened revealing large black pupils dotted with a blood red circle.

Ziva let out a scream as she rapidly woke up sitting right on her bed. _It was only a dream, it was only a dream. _She knew she had small feelings for Tony but it wasn't the fact that he was kissing someone else; it was the fact that it was Kate. Not the Kate from the stories that he told but this new "resurrected" Kate. The picture of Kate's eyes would not leave her mind. She had never been so frightened. She placed the palm of her hands on her face trying to wipe the image away. She turned her head slightly over to her night table remembering the book she had retrieved from Walt's home. She turned herself around facing the table and turned the light on. She stared at it, not sure of what was in it.

She took it in her hands and opened it. The text was in Latin, to which Ziva only understood a little. She tried to figure out unknown words by linking certain words from different languages as she read. The book contained the history of ancient spells and witchcraft from the dark ages. _Witchcraft?_ Was Jonathon interested in dark history? What does the circle behind his ear represent? Her mind fluttered with questions as she continued to read.

She flipped through the pages skimming to see if any important helpful words would pop up. She finally stopped at a page whose corner was decorated with a large black circle. Beside the circle read the word, _discipule,_ meaning apprentice.

"So he was an apprentice, of what witchcraft? Magic doesn't exist," she muttered not impressed with her findings.

"An apprentice learns under his master, either good or evil. If an apprentice goes against his master's wishes the punishment is death…" she read. "Death…" she repeated. _Could he have been killed by his so-called "master"? _ She continued to read on, "Some spells taught by warlocks…warlocks? What in the world is a warlock?" She grabbed her smart phone from the table and googled the term.

"A man who practices Witchcraft," she read off of her phone. She did remember some curious cold cases that involved ridiculous beliefs that ended in death due to argument over that specific belief. She became curious and read on, "Some Spells taught by warlocks usually occur in meddling with the dead. One common spell was called 'the binding spell' to which the user could control any body as he pleases. His mind becomes their body whether the body be alive or dead. He can control the victims loved ones if his victim was initially deceased before using…" Ziva froze, this piece of information linked many things: Kate coming back to life, no one but her questioning the reason why; however, if Jonathon was this killer's apprentice, then he must have disobeyed him if he was to be killed. If this information was correct, which of course sounded crazy to Ziva, then the team is in danger…a lot of danger.

Her phone began to ring which startled her. She looked at the screen and it read Palmer's name. She picked it up with curiosity. "Hello?..."

"Ziva? It's Jimmy!"

"Jimmy? Why are you calling at this hour?"

"Okay…well I at first thought I was the only one who thought that Kate's arrival was weird but then I noticed this morning when walking up to see Tony that it bothered you too…well from what I could tell…"

"You are correct!"

"oh okay good! Because I think the team has lost it, I don't know what this is but I have a feeling that you are trying to figure it out…"

"Lost it? What do you mean lost it?"

"open your door and I will tell you!"

Ziva hesitated at that request, but she got up anyway. She walked towards her door gun at the ready in case this was a trick. She quickly opened it and saw Palmer standing there with his cellphone in his hands ready to speak.

"Mrs. Walts is dead and the blame is pinned on you."

* * *

**BTW the symbols are of my creation the circle is not the symbol of an apprentice in real life. I hope you'll enjoy the rest. It gets much better in my opinion the first chapters are nothing compared to the rest. please review :) **


	6. shooting

"What?!" Ziva exclaimed. She opened the door wider for Palmer to come in.

"I was just about to leave the autopsy room and then I heard Gibbs and Dr. Mallard in front of the elevator with Kate. They…they were talking about how Mrs. Walts was killed and that your fingerprints were at the crime scene and I thought that they wouldn't believe it because like that case with Tony when someone tried to pin a murder on him Gibbs and Abby never slept until they proved Tony's innocence, but this is just one piece of evidence and automatically you are guilty. And...and Dr. Mallard was talking about how you were questioning about Kate and that that makes you guilty or something I didn't really make it out. But I know Dr. Mallard more than anyone and he would never do such a thing! And…and Kate's eyes were pinned on him like a robot it was… it was creepy! But I know you wouldn't kill her…you didn't right?"

Ziva shook her head which brought Palmer into relief. "What were you doing in her house exactly?" he asked.

"I was looking for this." She pointed to the book that lay open on her bed. Palmer walked towards it and picked it up.

"The circle on the binding, I found that under his ear! Dr. Mallard didn't believe me he said it was a freckle, which was weird because he would never say something like that."

"Was Kate in the room when he did?"

"um…ya…ya I think she was. She uh came down to ask for a report and then I mentioned the circle and she looked at him and that is when he said it was nothing. I didn't want to argue."

Ziva looked concerned at Palmer now thinking that this witchcraft thing could be the cause of what is happening.

"so you only came here to warm me?" She asked.

"Not only that I was hoping to help you. Dr. Mallard is one of my best friends and I want to help him and our team as best as I can and Breena is out for the week with her dad for some father daughter time in New York, so she will be safe if something does happen."

"Are you saying you are willing to risk your life, Jimmy?"

"As crazy as it sounds yes, you risk your lives every day to help the ones you love, I think it is my turn too."

Ziva smiled at him thankful that someone out there at least has the same opinion as she does.

"Now do you have any idea how Kate came back to us?"

"I will tell you what I know in a moment, but if what you are saying about me being accused for murder is true then we have to get out of here. The first place they will look is here."

Palmer nodded and Ziva quickly grabbed the book and placed it in her bag. She did not have time to change into her everyday clothes so she grabbed a few and shoved them into her bag. She never thought she would be on the run from NCIS, yet alone on the run with Palmer.

They both crept towards the parking lot of her apartment. Palmer suggested using his car but she disagreed, NCIS would be able to track them down instantly. She used her old skills from Mossad and broke into a black car disabling the alarm rather quickly before it went off. She and palmer had gotten inside.

"Where will we go?"

"Somewhere where we can find answers, do you know any old history buildings or churches with records or something?"

"history? Church records? What for?"

"Just answer me!"

"Uh… a few hours from here I heard that there is an old catholic church that was built when first settlers came to America but I don't know what you'd find there."

"That is good enough."

She started to reverse the car when she heard Tony's voice yell out.

"FREEZE NCIS! GET OUT OF THE CAR ZIVA!"

"Duck down Jimmy they do not know you are here!" Ziva said quietly as Palmer ducked his head hoping not to be seen.

"Hold on!" Ziva warned as she slammed her foot on the accelerator with her gears still in reverse and the car began to accelerate backwards at a high speed. Gibbs appeared from beside Tony and both began to shoot. Palmer let out small squeals as he heard the gun shots hitting the car. Ziva changed her gear and instantly turned the wheel and pressed on the gas. She drove right passed them while the car gained more damage from the bullets. Clearly Ziva could tell that they were not planning to miss. She looked behind her and saw them get into their car.

Ziva drive faster than she has ever driven before, which would be a rather surprise. Palmer felt like he was going to be sick and sat up.

"Are you crazy they will see you!"

"Either way they will notice that I won't be at work tomorrow!"

"Good point." Ziva agreed. Tony and Gibbs were still tailing them and the guns were going off. Ziva desperately wanted to shoot back but she couldn't kill them.

"We can't shoot back or we will kill them,' Ziva explained in case Palmer was wondering.

"Well that doesn't mean we can't hurt them. I know…tis…tis a bad thing to say but if they get injured they will have to go to the hospital; therefore, they won't be able to do anything physical for weeks which can give us an advantage to figure this whole thing out without having them constantly on our tail."

Ziva nodded as she passed several cars almost all beeping at her. "okay." Ziva looked in her rear-view mirror and noticed that Gibbs was driving, and the look on his face was rather determining.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered under her breath as she turned the vehicle around switching gears to reverse and pulling out her gun. She held the steering wheel with her right hand and with her left she shot their front tires. The car flipped over and she shut her eyes for a second hating herself for doing it. She turned the car around and changed gears.

"WOAH I said hurt not explode!" exclaimed palmer.

Ziva looked at her rear view mirror and saw Gibbs and Tony both fall out of the vehicle still breathing and both cursing at her as they drove away.

"They are fine. We need to switch cars, they have already seen the plate," Ziva suggested. Palmer looked back in fright; he did not know what he was getting into.

She tried not to show that it killed her to hurt Tony, but if it meant saving his life then it was worth it.

"We can take the city bus to the edge of the city, then maybe take a cab from there…I have money for tickets," Palmer also suggested.

"Good thinking! They would not expect us to travel in that fashion."

She looked at Palmer appreciating everything he has done and what he has sacrificed. She then thought of Breena hoping that if Gibbs finds out that Palmer is with her he would go and find Breena.

"Call Breena. Tell her what is happening and tell her to go somewhere safe," Ziva ordered. Palmer nodded and began to dial his phone.


	7. The Gallows

Tony sat at his desk with cuts and bruises surrounding his face. Gibbs was in the hospital with a broken arm, and nothing but anger swelled up into Tony's face.

"See? Didn't I tell you she was a monster! She kills the wife and almost kills you and Gibbs, two people which she used to call her friends and family! Who knows maybe SHE killed petty officer Jonathon Walts! She is not the girl that you had feelings for Tony…she is a traitor!"

The pale woman who calls herself Kate whispered those mind twisting words into Tony's ears.

"Traitor" Tony repeated as he stared at Ziva's empty desk.

"She's a lie! She must be punished! You should go and find her and kill her!"

"Kill her." Tony repeated.

-x-

Palmer and Ziva sat in the Cab as it brought them to a small town just outside of DC. As they got out of the cab they saw at the top of the hill the old church that Palmer spoke about.

"So when are you going to tell me about what is going on?" Palmer asked.

Ziva looked to their side and saw the motel. "Not here," she said. They both checked in for a room with two beds and headed their way up the stairs.

Palmer sat down on the bed and gave his full attention to Ziva.

"Alright, that symbol that we both saw behind Jonathon's neck was a sign representing a warlock's apprentice. Before I found this out I went to his house to look around to see if there was something to explain what this was. I found the book in his basement and I escaped through the window when I heard the door open. That is why I was there."

"So, what else did the book say that could explain Kate?"

"Kate is not Kate. She is Kate in the flesh but her mind is not her. Kate is till dead, Jimmy. Her body is being used as a puppet by what I am assuming to be Jonathon's 'master'!"

"But if Kate is still dead then…why is her body not decayed? I remember watching a documentary actually about witchcraft one time when there was nothing else on TV, and what I remember was that if a witch or warlock used a dead person's body the body would stay the same as it was when they first began to use it…but Kate has been dead for 8 years! She would be rotting right now, she did though seem very pale but she should be rotting!" Palmer was very confused and he shook his head many times. "But, why a church? Is it because witches were claimed to be the workers of the devil so there may be some information there?"

"I do not know! This is not my religion! I only know of Christians burning witches and calling them servants of the devil. That is why I hoped that an old church would be able to have documents or priests that know of these tails that I am not familiar with."

"Is there a way of destroying it? Because clearly this is Kate… well Kate's body but someone else's mind doing this to our team…but they are targeting you! Why?"

"How am I supposed to know, Jimmy!" Ziva exclaimed. Palmer could tell that she was rather frustrated. Palmer's confused face then turned into something of realization. His eyes widened as he jumped up startling Ziva.

"I saw a sign! There was a sign about an old jail! Now it's a museum, and it said something about hanging and witches… why did I not notice that until now?"

Ziva smiled at Palmer, because this was their first lead.

Ziva showed her badge to the caretaker of the old jail. He let them through. The hallway was narrow and cold. "This is a museum?" Ziva asked.

"More like a haunted building that tourists like to visit for a cool experience," Palmer explained, Ziva could tell by the sound of his voice that he was scared. Palmer and scary things did not go well together. They walked towards the hall that read as murderer's row.

"I don't think that witches would have been put here, usually they were hung or burned right away. Ziva looked out the window that was across from the hall. The window had bars which gave Palmer a bit of a shiver.

"Look is that the cemetery from the crime scene?" Ziva asked as she pointed to the field ahead of them.

"Yeah, I didn't know it was here!"

"We took a different route to get there which is why I didn't recognize the place when we arrived."

"Ziva look!" Palmer was pointing towards the yard that lay bellow them. The yard consisted of a small stage with a hanging rope. They both nodded at each other and headed down the stairs. Palmer let out small yelps as little shadows crossed their paths. Ziva continuously shushed him slightly embarrassed by him.

Once they reached the courtyard a modern sign placed for tourists explained the significance of the hanging. Palmer began to read while Ziva held up a flashlight, "around 1730 the last round of accused witches were hung here, mostly women but some men. There was a legend that some escaped and went across the sea. Some stayed in Europe but most fled to the middle east-"

"Middle East?" Ziva cut him off. "How-"Ziva was cut off by the sound of car tires screeching. They looked over and saw Tony get out of the car with…her.

"Shit!" Ziva exclaimed and Palmer only realized their situation.

"I guess we can forget that visit to the church!" commented Palmer as Ziva grabbed his hand and ran for the gate pointing towards the field leading to the cemetery. They started to run, both not looking back.


	8. The Killer

The same moon shined upon them from the night of Jonathon's murder as Ziva and Palmer entered the graveyard. Palmer was panting mostly from his heart thumping in fright. Ziva had never thought that she'd ever be running away from Tony. Tony. The thought of his mind, twisted and controlled by some mad man.

"Did they see us run?" asked Palmer as he took a second to breathe while holding his knees rather firmly. Ziva looked towards the direction they came from, and she saw nothing. It was dark however, but the moonlight guided their path and she did not see any shadowy figures coming after them.

"I don't think so." Ziva turned back around and saw the grave from the crime scene.

"Why do you think Jonathon was buried alive? Didn't McGee say that there was a bag of some kind he was carrying in his truck?" Palmer asked.

"You mean that truck?" Ziva said pointing to the light blue pickup truck that was parked beside the old chapel. How in the world did it appear there? They have been tracking it down for weeks and here it was.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Palmer said nervously.

"Come on," Ziva said as she led him towards it. The truck was empty nothing and no one was in it. She lit her flashlight inside the window to see if there was anything under the seats. Palmer kept on looking around in case Tony and 'her' were anywhere to be seen. The light from Ziva's flashlight shined upon a beige empty bag. She instantly recognized it. It was the fabric from Abby's lab that she tried to decipher.

"He was burying someone," she concluded.

"What?"

"That bag in there looks like a bag one would use to place a body in for burial if they could not afford a coffin. A piece of it is missing…there! That hole. The missing piece is in Abby's lab!"

"But she said that it was part of his clothing…"

"The book said that the warlock can control the loved ones of his victim if the victim was initially dead when he used it. Kate was dead and all but us were close to her!"

"So the killer could control them…oh my goodness that makes sense now! Dr. Mallard ignoring obvious evidence that could lead to the mystery of Kate and…"

"Gibbs keeping me out of the loop because I never met her so the 'magic' has no effect on me…"

"So Jonathon was our good guy!" Palmer jumped up with excitement; this was the first case that he could figure out. "It all makes sense! He could only kill his apprentice if Jonathon when against him! So the killer must have been planning this attack on NCIS for whatever reason I don't know, and Jonathan must have disagreed with it so he…"

"Took Kate from her original grave and tried to bury her here so the killer could not find her!" Ziva finished both looked at each other with dropped jaws.

"But the question is who and why?" asked Palmer.

"That is a very good question!" said an unknown male voice with a slight British accent. Ziva and Palmer both turned around quickly Ziva with her gun at the ready. The man in front of them was wearing a dark cloak his face was covered in shadow. "I bet you are all dying for some answers, especially you Ziva."

Tony appeared from behind the man holding his gun pointed at Ziva and Palmer, the body of Kate did the same.

"It's unfortunate, really. All of your friends turning on you, but you were lucky. Your autopsy friend here was able to slip through my fingers. But not for long, I control your friends, Ziva and you cannot do anything about it."

"Who are you?" Ziva yelled as palmers hands shake while he raises them up.

"Put down your gun, Ziva!" Tony yelled back. Ziva looked at him, she felt as though she wanted to cry seeing Tony determined to kill her but her anger overcame her sadness.

"That would be a wise choice!" said the killer removing his hood and revealing a pale young face with black hair and scorching red eyes.

"I will if you tell me why you are doing this!" Ziva demanded.

"Either way I was going to tell you before I killed you, or in fact my intention is not to kill you myself. I prefer to watch. But, by all of your research I think you should obey him. You know of what I can do."

Ziva was afraid, she did not want to believe him by there was no proving evidence that Kate's resurrection was a work of a scientist, so she placed the gun on the floor in front of her.

The pale dark man walked up towards her until he was close enough to smell her, Tony and the body of Kate still held their guns. "I will spare you to know the story of how I became to be here and why you are my target, and if you listen and behave I will spare your autopsy friend a quick and painless death."

Ziva's heart began to pump, she felt like she was in a horror movie. She was used to fighting criminals but this one was no ordinary criminal. He was the scariest man she had ever met.


	9. past

Palmer was held by the arm by the one and only flesh of Kate Todd; however, it did give him some relief that it was not the real Kate Todd but he was still scared to death.

"I understand that you came here to find answers, well here they are. Did you know I grew up here? That jail that you so gladly came across was the death place of my mother. Yes, she was a witch. I was one of the remainders who fled to the Middle East. I lived there for a few hundred years. Surprised? That same spell that I used on Kate to make her rotting flesh look like she was born yesterday is what kept me alive for all these years. Do you remember your mother, Ziva? She was beautiful wasn't she?"

Ziva shivered at the mention of her mother, Tony came from behind her and held her arm and pointed his gun into her back.

"Your father never knew, but I was your mother's lover once. We wanted to run away together, but then she changed her mind. She did not want to leave her children. She left me; she left me with cruel hurtful words that made my emotions burst like bomb. No one hurts me like that, no one. You think she died of natural causes! That is what the doctors say! And your sister, Tali. What a beautiful name. I of course was not satisfied with killing your mother. When I saw you and your siblings I saw nothing but her. So of course, I had to get of you. I poisoned the minds of your sister's killers." He continued as he circled Ziva. Ziva's heart stopped. She was breathing rather heavily.

"And I heard you went and seeked for revenge. I pity them. And your brother, Ari. I think you remember him as a sweet nice boy. I ran into him when he was at medical school. I convinced him to do certain things. He liked me so much he introduced me to your father. Now you can understand why your father had so many enemies."

"You poisoned his mind!?" Ziva exclaimed, Tony grasped her arm harder which gave her a shot of pain.

"Your father would not have asked you to murder your own brother, if I hadn't suggested it. Your father would not have sent Michael Rivkin to kill you, if I hadn't played with his strings. That bomb in your apartment was meant for you, but your precious NCIS was always in the way. So decided to take them out, let them not pay any attention to you and perhaps maybe even have the honours of killing you, the last blood line of your family. Your father's death was caused by another poisoned mind. I wanted to use him to do other great things but the power started to wear off when he came back to regain his relationship with you."

Ziva's veins flowed with anger, anger she did not know she had.

"So you killed him! You! It was all you!" She screamed.

"Now what did I say about behaving? Do you want your friend to be killed like how my mother and her people were killed?" he asked viciously. "I will have Tony do the honours, and once I awake him he will see his beautiful work and then he will join you in the afterlife."

Tony's mind was too controlled to react to those words. Palmer reached for his pocket slowly that the body of Kate would not notice. It was his lighter. He knew that witches only died if they were hung or burned. So he turned it on and threw it at the killer.

The killer screamed in pain as the fire hit his pale skin. Ziva elbowed Tony in the side and then flipped him over onto his back. Palmer pushed the body of Kate into the back truck of the car. Ziva picked up the gun and began to run with Palmer. She started to shoot at the killer who turned around. Clearly the fire wasn't big enough to kill him. The bullets did nothing but go straight threw him as though he was a ghost. Ziva gave Palmer the extra gun she had picked up and he began to shoot Kate's body hoping that the demon inside of it could escape. Nothing happened. The bullets ran out and Tony was charging for Ziva. He pushed her to the ground as she screamed for palmer to go. He started to run but got tackled by the bloody body of Kate.

Ziva kicked Tony in the thigh and he punched her in response.

"Tony! It's me! Ziva!" She tried to get him to come back to reality, but it wasn't working. She had gotten up but was pulled to the ground. She lifted her leg up and kicked him between his legs. He sprung back in pain. She started to head towards the place where the killer dropped palmer's lighter. Once Ziva was about to reach it a force so powerful pushed her away like a knock of wind. She crashed into the large shack.

Palmer grabbed a sharp stick from his side as the bloody body of Kate tried to tear him apart. He stabbed her in the heart and threw her to the side. Her Body started to vibrate and smoke came out from all parts of her skin. Her body started to decay back to its original rotten form from which it was un-dug. Palmer began to run towards the lighter but Tony threw a rock at his legs causing him to collapse. Tony left Palmer there and the killer stood there holding his burned arm in pain but watching as the juice began to spill between Ziva and Tony.

Tony picked up a broken sharp stick from the damaged side for which Ziva hit on the shack.

"Tony please!" she tried to turn him around. "It is me Ziva! Your colleague, your friend!" Tony pushed her down to the ground holding the stake in his hands ready to stab.

"Look into my eyes, Tony! Think of all we have been through! Please! I.. I love you!" this was the first time she ever admitted it, it just came out. She had never thought about it once but it was out she had said it and even if there was no change in him she still meant it. "Tony!" Tony's mind was still controlled and seemed to have not cared of what she had just said. She held his arm up as he held the short sharp stake above her neck. Then there was a scream.

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**yes i know it is kinda dark, but i'd love it if i could get some reviews! your opinion is really appreciated! :)**


	10. Burn

Palmer had thrown the lit lighter at the shack causing everything to catch on fire. The scream had come from Ziva right before the flames blew had caught up to them causing Tony to get distracted. Ziva grabbed the stake from his hand and threw it away. She pushed him to the side ending up on top of him and she placed her feet on his legs and her hands on his arms to prevent him from moving. She regretted it but she gave him a large punch to knock him unconscious. As she turned around Palmer's throat was in the hands of the pale killer. He looked to be choking him.

"Jimmy!" Ziva yelled. She ran for the stake and threw it towards him piercing him in the stomach. He dropped palmer as he screamed in pain. She grabbed a burning stick from the explosion of fire next to her and she ran towards the pale shadow, screaming with anger. Once the killer looked up Ziva had jumped and placed the burning fire upon the stake in his chest. She lit his cloak on fire and watch him burn. Palmer crawled towards her and finally got up and stood beside her. He too felt as though he was in a horror movie. The killer's body had turned to ashes and Ziva stood there just staring at the nothingness that now laid there helpless.

"He's gone. He is gone." Ziva repeated with a surprised yet relieved tone. It was over, the running away, the search for revenge against her family and the mind torture of her friends. She heard a grunt coming from behind her. She turned around to see Tony rolling on his side waking up from her brutal hit. He opened his eyes as saw the burning the shack and then turned to see Ziva and Palmer both standing ther covered in wounds and burns.

"Ziva?..." Tony muttered. He was back. Her Tony was back. She did not think but to run to him. She jumped into his arms collapsing them both flat on the ground. Palmer smiled from behind as Ziva held Tony tightly.

"How did you figure it out?" Tony muttered.

"You knew what was going on?" Ziva asked as they broke apart.

"My conscience was fighting him, but he was too strong. I could see with my eyes of what I was doing but I couldn't do anything to stop it," explained Tony. Ziva still lay on top of him. She kissed him on the forehead and whispered, "Let's go home."

-x-

It felt great to sit in her chair again. No one ignoring her anymore, in fact she and Palmer ever since had gotten a lot of attention. They both received a large bonus from Vance as a thank you. Palmer used it to buy a vacation for him and Breena especially after scaring her with that phone call about going somewhere safe. Ziva, however, used the bonus to go to Israel. Tony joined her. She visited the graves of her family asking deep in her heart for forgiveness for ever doubting them especially her father. She wondered how her family would have been like if that mystery man hadn't walked in.

Tony told her that the only thing he liked about his mind being controlled was the fact that Ziva took the courage to tell him how she felt. He thought he was the only one with feelings but she loved him. She did not know it until the jealousy of Kate's body flirting with him overcame her feelings and the fact that he tried to kill her. As of the real Kate, her body was taken back to her original grave. It was gated with a small wooden fence to prevent another situation like this.

As for Ziva, she was more alert for everything. Gibbs in fact started to ask for her opinion more and as strange as it may sound he did the same with Palmer. Palmer felt more confident around Gibbs, he wasn't afraid anymore to state his opinion, because after that he built up the confidence to face any case that was thrown at them.

THE END

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**I hoped you guys liked it! I was going for something different (which was the same with my first fanfic - the unexpected) and i hoped that different was good :) because to me it seemed good :) please review! and let me know what you think :) i really appreciate your support **


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